A Tax Plan That Defies the Rules of Math


IN May of 2000, when George W. Bush was running for president on a platform of extravagant tax cuts for all, his campaign did something that would be considered remarkable today: it submitted his tax plan to the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, to see how much all those tax cuts would cost the Treasury.

The bipartisan committee ran through the details provided by the campaign and predicted that the tax plan would cost about $1.3 trillion over nine years, an underestimate but a clear sign of its high price tag. With the budget in surplus at the time, Mr. Bush didn’t dispute that cost, and never tried to pretend that the cuts would be free. Within a decade, in fact, they would turn out to be the biggest factor in the huge deficit he created.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/12/opinion/sunday/romneys-tax-plan-defies-the-rules-of-math.html?_r=1

Fishy

Lots of TeaBaggers won elections, if you didn't notice...and very few of them will win again, and none of them will win a national election...which you know, but continue to pretend isn't the truth.

Those TeaBaggers you guys so excitingly embraced two years ago when you won the House back will be the death of you.

When they get voted out, they will not be replaced by "mainstream" Republicans, because there are damn few of them left.

Fish on...

Todd

Hank....

Fishy

Little generous Hank but this guys has a good record of projections.

http://www.electionprojection.com/index.php

BO wins but up and down in popular vote and is likely to loose the popular vote but take the electoral 332 to 206. He was down .002 in popular vote but jumped up a bit presently. Senate R's 50 + 3 / D's 48 / -3 . House R's 240 -2 / D's 195 +2. Still early.

Hank hasn't heard of the Electoral College.

Who is "they"?

"They" is the imaginary people in Hank's brain...the non-white, non-rich, non-Republicans they are always blaming the ills of the world on on FoxNews.

Fish on...

Todd

Oh. My bad.

One woman was "they".

Or more to the point, one woman was *almost* they, since "they" didn't actually come up with any such bill.

Thanks for clarifying that, Hank.

Fish on...

Todd

My bad...it was a bill almost sponsored by some people...they were the "they" who must have really wanted to do away with the EC, since they didn't sponsor any such bill.

Now it makes sense.

Fish on...

Todd

McNulty proved to be about as prescient as you guys.

Fish on...

Todd

First part of any good plan is "First, do no harm"...so making sure the Republicans don't get anywhere near it would be a good first step.

The TeaBaggers will get mad if you put your "hands on" their Medicare while going about the necessary business of destroying Gubmint Healthcare...be careful, you still need their votes.

Fish on...

Todd

No, that's just the first step...but color me surprised that you'd just make up the rest.

Fish on...

Todd

Well, considering that's what the right wingers would like to do to Medicare (and any number of other "entitlement" programs), why would you have a problem with anyone saying it?

Fish on...

Todd

P.S. Saying they want to "fix" it does not make it so...when the "fix" is to whittle it down to nothing so that it costs nothing and helps no one.

If nothing is done about the funding for Medicare it will end, no matter what party is in power.

Compromise? With Republicans in Congress?

Are you fuckin kidding me?

You have been watching them for the past three years, right?

Fish on...

Todd

Well the last three years sucked on many levels as to congress. Not a fan of the R House but the with Reid refusing to bring anything forward from the Senate side after the 2010 election and pass it so it goes to conference to reach the middle it is not surprising.

So if you did not like the last three then your gonna love the next four. Odds are the Senate will be R as well as the House with the current Prez still hanging in. Not that bad though as Clinton was at his best with the R's in the majority and lord he had the Newt to deal with. He did have to give up cigars as they were bad for ........ his health?

Second term for any President is about the legacy they leave and not being bound to their bases be it D or R and reelection. If history is a guide and BO wins he will in all likelihood govern much differently. Now that is the crap shoot as the current President is not a Bill Clinton.